Kansas unemployment dropped in January

A Kansas agency says the state’s jobless rate dipped to 4.8 percent in January and more people held jobs than at the beginning of 2013.

The state Department of Labor said January’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from the 4.9 percent recorded for December 2013. The rate was 5.6 percent in January 2013.

Monday’s report also said total nonfarm, private-sector employment in January topped 1.12 million, showing a gain of 20,500 jobs from January 2013. Private-sector employment growth over the year was 1.9 percent.

The state saw its most robust growth in construction, where 61,000 people held jobs in January, compared with 55,100 in January 2013, a 10.7 percent rise.

Professional, business, educational and health services also saw employment increases over the year, while manufacturing and government employment dropped slightly.